Bike-riding Bonner ready for return

After missing more than two weeks with a sprained right ankle, Matt Bonner isn’t so sure he’s quite ready to play a full complement of minutes in an NBA game.

The Tour de France is another story.

“I feel like I could challenge Lance Armstrong in a bike contest now,” Bonner said.

Bonner spent the bulk of his time on the injured list attached to the stationary bike, under the direction of noted taskmaster Mike Brungardt, the Spurs’ strength and conditioning coach. Ready or not for basketball, Bonner has been cleared to return tonight against Philadelphia.

Originally injured in the season opening victory over Indiana on Oct. 27, Bonner admits he might not be in game shape. He’s had two days of live practices leading up to tonight’s return. He’s spent far more time in the rehab room than the basketball court.

“It’s a tough situation when you get injured,” Bonner said after Saturday morning’s shootaround. “You’re not on vacation. You’re actually putting in two, three times the time commitment than when you’re healthy.”

“I can probably ride a bike 50 miles,” Bonner added. “Being in game shape is a different animal.”

One thing Bonner didn’t do much of while on the shelf: Shooting. Chip Engelland, the team’s shooting coach, often limits the shooting players are allowed to do while injured, lest they foul up their stroke.

“He said it gives you an imbalanced push off, so when you return (the bad form) lingers,” Bonner said.

For that and other reasons, Bonner doesn’t expect to log too many minutes tonight. The Spurs are thin on the wing after learning they’d be without rookie guard James Anderson for two months, but stacked with big men.

Asked how he might go about finding playing time for five big men on a nightly basis, coach Gregg Popovich chuckled.

“I think it will be a really good situation for writers,” he said. “Whoever doesn’t play, you guys can ask why didn’t he play, every game.”

Bonner’s return could give Popovich added options when it comes to managing Tim Duncan’s minutes during the Spurs’ first back-to-back of the season. After tonight’s game, the Spurs travel to Oklahoma City for a Sunday tilt against the Thunder.

“We’re going to consider what we want to do with Timmy’s minutes, but the primary goal is to win games,” Popovich said. “We’ll probably make that decision as we go through the games. Both teams are very athletic and very difficult for us, so we’re going to need everything we can muster tonight and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.”